Turnstile

--the stage--

All stage curtains are open. The bare wall at the rear of the stage is exposed. It is painted black. The lighting illuminates only the front third of the stage, leaving the depths of the stage lit by only the glare of the action. The stage suggests a cavern.

An imposing door stands about a third of the way back from the proscenium. The door resembles the door to a walk-in safe. Instead of a knob, in fact, the door sports a lever. This imposing safe-like door stands unconnected to any other property on the set, not even walls. It's just a doorframe and a door.

Downstage of the door and to the right is a table. Downstage of the door and to the left is another table. The two tables are identical, roughly in the style of schoolhouse cafeteria tables. The tables are arranged diagonally in relation to the imposing safe-like door. The table to the right is a nurse's receiving table behind which waits a young woman in stereotypical nurse's garb. The table to the left is a judge's "bench" behind which sits a mature woman in black judge's robes. Both tables are equipped with chrome calling bells.

To the left of the nurse's table, between it and the imposing safe-like door, a young woman sits in a brown blazer and brown skirt. She sits in a chair before a stenograph with her hands in her lap. This is stenographer one. To the right of the nurse's table, between it and the proscenium, a phalanx of eight chairs is arranged, four in front of four. These eight chairs make up the nurse's "waiting room." In one of the front four of these chairs fidgets Elias Pratt. Pratt wears light-colored clothing, the left side of which is heavily soiled with blood. There is a rip in his shirt above his kidney.

To the right of the judge's table, between it and the imposing safe-like door, sit two empty chairs, side by side. To the left of the judge's table, between it and the proscenium, sit two more chairs, side by side. In the right of these two downstage chairs a young woman sits in a brown blazer and brown skirt. She sits before a stenograph with her hands in her lap. This is stenographer two.

Directly in front of the imposing safe-like door, two or three steps forward of it, stands a turnstile.

--the time--

The exaggerated present.

The Action >>>